Sam Bankman-Fried’s early $500mn investment in Anthropic could have grown into a stake worth about $37bn at the AI company’s anticipated public valuation of $1.5tn. Made in 2021 through Alameda Research Ventures, the investment bought nearly 14 per cent of Anthropic, then valued at roughly $4bn. Anthropic’s funding helped it hire researchers and train its first models; its emphasis on AI safety also aligned with Bankman-Fried’s effective-altruist outlook and his network’s interest in long-term risks. But after FTX and Alameda collapsed in 2022, the stake was sold in 2024 for about $1.3bn, and the proceeds went to customers and creditors.
The lost upside reflects a broader pattern among Alameda’s investments. Its early stake in AI coding company Anysphere, acquired for $200,000, was also sold for that amount during bankruptcy, while an approximately 8 per cent holding in Robinhood bought for more than $500mn was repurchased for $606mn; that stake would now be worth an estimated $4.5bn. Bankman-Fried’s portfolio was liquidated to repay those harmed by the collapse, and he was convicted of fraud and money laundering for secretly directing FTX customer funds to Alameda. Anthropic’s shares were sold to a group including Mubadala-linked investors, Jane Street, HOF Capital, the Ford Foundation and Fidelity-managed funds. They paid around 2.6 times Alameda’s original investment; at the anticipated listing price, the stake could be worth roughly 74 times that initial outlay.
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